|
I didn’t feel bad at all chucking  at Baldurk.
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 00:41
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 23:42 |
|
|
Alaan posted:I didn’t feel bad at all chucking How would someone go about doing this? I don't see a donation link on the websites
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 00:55
|
|
|
This running gag is already funnier than things falling on Bart's head at the end of every chapter of Xenogears.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 02:14
|
|
|
All these death fakeouts are starting to feel like some sort of radio serial.The Dark Id posted:Margarete turned pulled it up just in time.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 02:23
|
|
|
Leraika posted:Margarete is so good. I genuinely love the fact that she doesn't bother to hide that she only keeps tagging along because she finds these guys to be fun
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 02:59
|
|
|
Oh hey, Dalian. I studied abroad there years ago! Though given the era this game's taking place in, I imagine it's not gonna look like much.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 05:33
|
|
|
Verant posted:Oh hey, Dalian. I studied abroad there years ago! Though given the era this game's taking place in, I imagine it's not gonna look like much. Pics? Or do all your photos look like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalian#/media/File:Dalian_Montage_(2).jpg
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 05:46
|
|
|
TalkLittle posted:Pics? Or do all your photos look like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalian#/media/File:Dalian_Montage_(2).jpg Ehh, similar but it was a whole hell of a lot smoggier when I was there. https://i.imgur.com/N3wytTL.jpg https://i.imgur.com/POLuC7g.jpg https://i.imgur.com/9pgfMkk.jpg
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 07:36
|
|
|
Those are great shots, thank you for sharing!
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 07:39
|
|
|
I keep being surprised at some of the lines Not bein Darkid's lines. Its not Drakengard3 level, but up there.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 09:50
|
|
|
Jinpachiro Hyuga? I wonder if they mean old Ben Hyuga....
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 10:06
|
|
|
Episode XVI: Sea Mother Music: Sea - Highnoon Fish (Hey this title is appropriate now.) .jpg)  Me, too… I can’t believe we made it in one piece… It's crazy we all got flung out, skipped along the water and managed to land safely on the dock. It's amazing luck, really. I'm not even wet.  I-I never dreamed we’d CRASH! Never in a million years! Who woulda thunk it, huh? What a… what a GUTLESS plane that was!! I thought we’d at least get past Dalian. Oh, ho ho ho!!  Alice and Yuri stand up. .jpg) … Lady, I've known you for all of half a day and I've been blown up THREE times in that span. Tch… I'd classify that last one more of a violent vehicle malfunction leading to catastrophic integrity loss…  Don’t glare at me, you two! That’s not very nice! C’mon, look on the bright side… we’re all still here! … …Right? .jpg) Sure, we're still here. Welcome to the port of Dalian. It's all of two screens large back in 1913 as filtered through a JRPG. Today it's a major port with a population of 6.7 million people. It's also home to a Lottery Ticket on the dock we'll happily pilfer. Beyond that, there's not much happening on the docks aside from one man guarding a fenced off and seemingly empty portion of the field. Let's see what he's up to… .jpg)  Is there anything I can do…? > I'll help if we trade something. Really?! Please, look for it!! I'll definitely get something for you!! No worries, I'll kick that turtle's rear end. What!? No… Just find it for me! To clobber, right? No!! Why would you… who'd do something like that!? It's my pet! Oh… That's way lamer than what was in my head. Fine, I'll still do it. ….jpg) We're now tossed into a mini-game. There are about twenty hotspots in the field that will make an  appear above Yuri's head. Clicking the action button on it will cause Yuri to investigate and see if the turtle is hiding in the clearly recently mowed and quite short grass. If not, he'll get annoyed and we'll have to try again. The mini-game ends when Yuri finds the turtle. The turtle's location is randomized, so no cheating. Depending on the number of attempts to find it, we'll get a different prize. I got quite lucky and found it on my second try which yields the best prize. But if I hadn't done so, we would have just reloaded the game and tried again. We really want first prize. .jpg) <hands over the turtle> Thank you so much! As thanks, please take this! <receives a Lottery Ticket> Thanks, I was so worried. Oh yeah, if you come here again tomorrow, something good will happen! Turtle soup? N-no! What is WRONG with you!? Just today? Got blown up in a terrorist bombing, fought an evil puppy, had a voice in my head yelling at me about something or other and was in a plane crash. … See ya tomorrow then..jpg) Welcome to Dalian port proper. It's just this town square. As I said, it was a tiny village in JRPG filtered 1913. May as well chat up all eight town residents to get the lay of the land in our new locale for this chapter. .jpg)  But since this ghost trouble, it's come to a standstill. Of course, that's made a lot of people happy. They don't want to see their precious port turned into some steel monstrosity… …Did you say, "ghost trouble"? Oh yes, quite a spot of bother. 'Kay. Just checkin'..jpg) That's one way to put it… Take my advice. You get yourselves to an inn before the sun goes down, then stay in your rooms. Get some sleep, eh? I've heard of the concept… …Why, you say? 'Cause the port of Dalian's under a curse!! An evil spirit's been preying on us!! <rubs chin> Pretty sure, you can punch ghosts… Definitely feel like I'm gonna have to see if that's true soon….jpg) You may wanna consider a name change. …What? Heh. If you can't dry fish, you shouldn't be called "Fish-drying Woman", right? <puzzled look> My name is Meili. Oh… well, I thought because it said on your—you know what? Forget it....jpg) Yeah like someone named "Sea Mother" ain't gonna have a pro-sea bias..jpg)  She comes with the mist and brings monsters... So many have died by her curse... Who's it going to be tonight? Lord, have mercy... This is a nightly ghost haunting curse thing? That's right, sonny. But there's like... thirteen people total living here... Mhm. Bad omen. ....jpg) It's a little bit hard to see, but to the right of that Old Man with Bad Back, behind some shelving, is a treasure chest Yuri can plunder to gain a lovely tea set and a complimentary sampling of sacred tea leaves. Brewing this up and consuming it in battle will restore 75 HP and 50 MP. A touch underwhelming for going to the trouble of setting up an entire tea set, honestly. .jpg) .jpg) There are two buildings we can enter in Dalian. The first is a restaurant near the docks – the Sea Turtle Restaurant. We cannot order any dinner here. But there are a few items of note. .jpg)  <shrugs> Yeah, I get chills just thinking about it... Who is Li Li, again? <shrugs> Yeah, I get chills just thinking about it... Informative..jpg) Another colorful hourglass consumable is hiding in a chest behind the table with Drunken Ron. I'll never remember to use these kinds of things in battles. .jpg)  She knows way more than we do. I'm pretty sure I saw her walkin' toward the inn... She probably went to see Yen Yen... Poor kid... I should see Sea Mother to learn about Li Li and she's in the inn to see Yen Yen. Yep yep! OK, OK....jpg) .jpg) The Helpful Owner of the Sea Turtle Restaurant is, in reality, running an item shop. Of particular note, this guy is selling next tier of basic protective accessories. Casual Belts to replace Leather Belts and Leather Caps to replace Bandanas. We're doing well financially at the moment. So, we'll go ahead and purchase three of each for our party. .jpg) So, you're saying a lovely port town is offering multiple hats made from horsehide from the 1200s. And at such low prices!? What a steal! Especially when it is providing +4 Physical Defense. .jpg) Nothing like a belt that sucks at being a belt. But hey, +4 Physical Attack is what it is. We may come back here to purchase a couple more things later. But for now, let's head over to the inn and see about this Sea Mother and ghost curse business... As soon as we approach the building, we're stopped by the Fish-Drying Woman. .jpg) Fine, but don’t bother Sea Mother. <turns away> She’s the only person we can depend on now. Gonna put an early bet down on this Sea Mother being evil and behind the curse right now...The party enters the inn. .jpg) My guy, you really gotta work on your sales pitch to new guests....jpg) <nods> Yeah, looks like it… Also... she looks weirdly familiar... Now that you mention it, yeah... But I can't place where. Bah... Cat's caught my tongue. Can't think of it..jpg) <writhes in pain> Aaah... uggh... I-it hurts... Brothers, ask... Sea Mother to... Hang in there, Yen Yen! Don't give up! You're gonna be all right! Please, Sea Mother! You’ve got to do something! He’s the only family I have!! The curse can't take him too! It already took my mother, father, our two sisters, our younger brother, uncle, two cousins and the cat!! Even the cat is gone!! <stops praying and shakes head> Yen Yen… I can’t help you.  …You fought very hard. You’re a brave, brave boy… You can’t say that Sea Mother!! Oh, God, Yen Yen!! <shakes head> I’m sure it was very difficult, but it’ll soon be over. I do not possess the power to eliminate Li Li’s curse… Forgive me, Yen Yen. <shakes> Ugh, ughh… Gurgle, gurgle….jpg) Cursed and killed by someone’s hate…! Hey, don't be all gloom and doom. I don't think that guy's dead ye—.jpg) BARF! <dies> Yen Yen?! Yen Yen!! NO-O-O-O!! Okay, NOW he's dead. Kinda underwhelming, huh? U-underwhelming? Yeah. Curse just kills 'em dead? I thought he'd like dissolve into a gross goo pile or blood would shoot out of his mouth like five feet in the air or his head would explode. Frikkin' lame. ... You have issues, sonny boy... Sea Mother turns around and faces the wall. .jpg) Spirits in the heavens. Our proud fisherman will be coming under your care. Please be good to him. <approaches Sea Mother> Thank you, Sea Mother… At least I won’t have to worry about Yen Yen losing his way… <returns to his brother's side> drat you, Li Li…!! How can you be so unthinkably cruel to our village…? <walks out of the room>.jpg) Sea Mother makes her way out of the inn, but not before stopping to look Alice over suspiciously before departing. Nothing sketchy about that. .jpg) And my father told me there'd be no money in being the town coffin maker. Everyone in Dalian lives to be old, he tells me. Settle down and run the inn, he told me. Thanks for nothing, father! Hmmm? Are you guests? I’m sorry, but please, leave me be… Again, you really gotta work on your hospitality pitch, guy... These are tumultuous times. Why don't you take a look at the weapons and armor downstairs? ...That's an OK recovery, pops..jpg) .jpg) Sure enough, there is a weapons shop downstairs – the Underground Armory. One day someone will inform video game developers than most coastal structures can't have basements due to the water table. Anyway, this guy is selling entirely the same junk as was available back in Fengtian. Though, strangely he is selling a Hexagonal Staff that nobody in the party can currently utilize. Weird. I'm sure nothing will come of that... .jpg) .jpg) Another chest can be raided in the corner of this inefficiently spaced basement containing another Seal item. This one raises MP by 3-5 points. I didn't realize this until starting the LP and looking it up. It turns out using Seal items in the menu will always result in the minimal value of bonus points (i.e. +3 MP.) But they can also be used in battle and only there will it potentially provide the potential 3-5 spread of points. The game doesn't provide the player with that information. Those kinds of items are usually outside of battle only items in most RPGs I've played. .jpg) There is another chest inside the weapon shop itself. Unfortunately, the Innkeeper's Son's Son (I think they call that a grandson) is barring the path now. We'll just keep in mind that chest is down here for a later time. Perhaps once .jpg) New Music: Angel Heart (Very moody.) .jpg) Departing from the inn, the sun has since set, everyone has evacuated indoors, and the atmosphere of the town has changed dramatically. If Yuri and the gang step further into the town square, they'll get alerted to someone on the far end of the village and rush over to investigate. .jpg) Glowing in the dark is a cool trick and all but kinda paints a target on your back, eh? I don't think people are supposed to glow. That seems sinister. Like with that evil dog... <frown> Hmm... Now that you mention it....jpg)  <laughs> <steps forward> Th-that voice! You… you must be Li Li! …That’s right. Tee-hee-hee, what a pretty voice! My voice used to be like that, too. Even prettier, maybe… <creeps toward the party> <jump back from Li Li> ...You had an English accent? No, of course not! Alice has an English accent? I'm from London, yes. Obviously. Huh... Weird. <motions toward the ghost> It’s you, isn’t it?! The evil spirit that comes out when the sun goes down! <motions dismissively and shakes head> Hmph. I thought I smelled a monster! Or rotting fish... Maybe both. Doesn't matter!Yuri puts up his dukes. .jpg) Tee-hee. What’s the point? I only have business with her. So, the sacrifice for tonight… <looks at Alice> Y O U.jpg) Eeeek!! Alice collapses unconscious. Yuri runs to her side. Meanwhile, Li Li teleports atop a fence post. .jpg) All you can do is sit by and watch. How glorious… She’ll be in agony until the very moment of her death. The same agony I tasted… That's it. I'm gonna bash your face in so hard your dad's ghost is gonna feel it. Tee-hee-hee… <laughs and fades away>Yuri runs over and tries to punch her as Li Li vanishes. .jpg) <checks on Alice> Alice! <punches the air> God drat it all to HELL!!Yuri runs back to Alice's side. .jpg) In just the last three days, Alice has been taken into custody by the Japanese military, nearly abducted by a warlock, attacked by wolves, sucked into a cursed hell dimension animal demon infested village, blown up in a terrorist bombing, blown up by a plane bombing, had her puppy turn out to be a Chinese sorcerer, involved in a plane crash and now cursed by a vengeful ghost... Alice Elliot is not having a good week. Sea Mother trots out of the Sea Turtle Restaurant and notices the party having a time. .jpg) S-Sea Mother?! Help us! Please!! Didn't we JUST watch her completely fail to fix this curse and have a guy die on her watch!? Do you have a better idea?! Can you fix curses!? ...N-no. Didn't think so. So shuddup and let's get her help! I-it can’t be! But… it is! That sound… You saw Li Li, didn’t you!? The girl is in grave danger! Bring her inside!! Hurry!!Yuri and Margarete nod at each other and carry Alice inside the restaurant. Music: Sea - Highnoon Fish .jpg) <swipes the air> But what can we do, Sea Mama?! There’s gotta be something!! Please!! Calm yourself!! I’ve called upon a warlock more powerful than I. He should arrive soon… A warlock...? It's not an English guy named "Bacon", right? No... OK. It's not a talking dog either, right? Are you daft? No. It's a professional from the region I trust. Look warlocks have been a bad scene for us, lately. Especially with Alice! I don't have time to beat up another one.Sea Mother walks over and examines a wall scroll. .jpg) You lost your beloved father, did you? In a foreign land, far, far away. Poor girl… <steps forward> Did Li Li lose her father, too? Yes, but under different circumstances. Fate has dealt them both a terrible hand indeed… I don't think Alice will come back as an rear end in a top hat ghost. Preferably, she won't be a ghost at all....jpg) Why did she turn into a ghost, and why is she menacing this town? Did someone squat a deuce on her grave or something? Curious, are you? About her tragic tale? Yes, I suppose you should hear this… Indeed, it seems to me that Li Li may have drawn you here. Hee hee hee. <side-eyes Margarete> Naw... Unless that ghost curses planes too, I don't think she can claim that one... Aha! I knew there was something afoot beyond my control! <nods> ...That wasn't an out for you crashing the plane. <shakes head> …It will be a long story, though. Fine, go on. I'm not trifling with the length of this tale. Perhaps you'd like to order a sandwich as I tell it. Just spit it out, grandma. Sheesh. Don't say you were not warned..jpg) Fifteen years ago, there was a sudden tornado that sank many ships, Li Li’s father was on one of them. He was her only blood relative. She stood on the docks, praying fervently for his homecoming… <turns to the party> She waited and waited, but still her father would not return. So she called out to the stormy sea. “Blue Dragon! God of Fishermen! Anyone! Please save my father’s life. I will do anything!” <paces> At that moment, a massive bolt of lightning struck the water, and the ocean suddenly became calm. Her father’s ship returned safely, but the gods were cruel… They had taken away her voice. <shakes head> But that was not all. Her voice had become switched with her father’s. His rough, fisherman’s voice. The father now spoke in Li Li’s sweet, dulcet tones; from that day on, he refused to ever speak again. That's a really lame curse. Don't interrupt! <looks away> Sigh… That year, a traveling theatrical troupe visited the village. Such bad timing, it was… Li Li fell in love with one of the actors… I tried everything to get her voice back, to no avail. The only way was to kill her father. ...That's quite the leap in logic. That's curses for you. One fateful night, Li Li came to me, speaking in her father’s voice. “Sea Mother, give me that dagger. The blade you use in your rituals. I’ve made a decision…” <walks away and faces the wall> It was shameful, but… one look into her eyes and I froze completely.So, the true Shadow Hearts experience is listening to Sea Mother's entire story. All that just now? Pfft. That was just setting the mood! Here's the actual Li Li origin story. It is voice acted. Indeed, this scene is a quarter of the total voice acted scenes in the game. Sea Mother is a VERY dedicated storyteller. Grab a plot dump sandwich, sit back and listen to her tale... Shloooop... Shloooop... .jpg) Video: Sea Mother's Tale (  Mandatory viewing! )
The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Jul 19, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 19:40
|
|
|
Shloooop Shloooop Shlooooop splat Those sound effects. 
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 20:01
|
|
|
shreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee This is amazing
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 20:09
|
|
|
This might be the most memorable part of the game. Shlooop, shlooop.quote:"Shouldn't we find her a bed or a blanket at least?" "Nah, she says she can't even sleep properly anymore unless she feels cold hard ground under her face."
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 20:21
|
|
.jpg)
|
I have friends who, to this day, will go SHLOOP SHLOOP SKREEEE! and then we will all start snickering. None of us have ever been able to forget Sea Mother's... unique... tale-telling abilities.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 20:30
|
|
|
Sea Mother's story scared the hell out of me as a kid, partly because it was so unique for a JRPG to go into this kind of territory, and because this is a game where you kill spiders that feed on their victims' anuses and fight cute little cats and dogs turned into demons.
Shitenshi fucked around with this message at 21:33 on Jul 18, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 21:26
|
|
|
Shadow Hearts is pretty goofy and fun, but every once in a while it slips back to its gothic horror roots from Koudelka. Everybody who skipped it, go back and click on that last video link.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 21:34
|
|
|
Shadow Hearts is a game about the same kind of material from Koudelka but instead of being a bunch of strangers trying not to die you're a bunch of hardcore shitkicker superheros and so react to things a lot differently.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 21:36
|
|
|
The best voice acting in the series right here.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 22:16
|
|
|
How did they go from Koudelka to whatever that was
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 22:53
|
|
|
I love how this serious old woman feels the need to add sound effects to her spooky story.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 23:13
|
|
|
Skanker posted:How did they go from Koudelka to whatever that was Seems perfectly straightforward to me.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2018 23:16
|
|
|
Gotta spend your voice acting budget in the proper places. Now I'm imagining if all those various diaries and letters we found in Koudelka had been dramatically voiced.The Dark Id posted:
Hide, not hair. I also like how they kill this horse, or it dies on its own, it turns into a dragon (like a butterfly I guess?), and then they just go ahead and make horse leather hats out of the old body.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 01:28
|
|
|
Holy poo poo, that sure was some voice-acting. Kudos to Sea Mother for really committing to telling her story properly.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 02:12
|
|
|
Now that I think of it, the party must have the most intriguing terrible combination of accents in Chinese. It's a miracle anyone can understand them at all.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 02:29
|
|
|
DRAKENHEARTS! Definitely mandatory listening. Now I don't know if I can ever hear Salvatore's voice in Windwaker and not think of this creepypasta poo poo coming out of his face.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 02:36
|
|
|
I found the noises to be a great bit of comedy, myself, but I can imagine them having a different effect if you're playing alone with the lights off.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 03:22
|
|
|
I'm a sucker for ghost stories myself, and I'm not ashamed to admit that the sound effects got to me a little.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 05:34
|
|
|
Yeah, I have to admit it was after Sea Mother's story and the frustration with the TIMED HIT gauge that led me to quit the game at this point. Still, I am intrigued by the atmosphere and hope to see where the rest of the game goes.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 06:55
|
|
|
God, I love that sequence.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 06:59
|
|
|
I think the grainy images are what sold the Sea Mother's Tale for me - they are so hard to make out that when the climax of the story hits, you don't know if your meant to be seeing a face or something else. Specifically the blurry as hell close up at 6:10.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 07:02
|
|
|
Hot drat, the VA for Sea Mother was really into that story. It must have been so much fun to voice act.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 09:18
|
|
|
Goddamn, Sea Mother .
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 11:54
|
|
|
Wasn't expecting a seven minute long ghost story but I'm happy it's here. Sea Mother really picked the wrong career in vague town mystic.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 14:59
|
|
|
On another note, you'd think Li Li's curse is pretty mundane by comparison for such a tragic backstory, but then again, with a deep gruff man's voice, people might start thinking she's like Manah. It's always the ghosts and cursed people who have the voice of the Legion.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2018 23:16
|
|
|
I think it was right about here that the Shadow Hearts series cemented itself as one of my favorites 
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2018 00:25
|
|
|
Shitenshi posted:On another note, you'd think Li Li's curse is pretty mundane by comparison for such a tragic backstory, but then again, with a deep gruff man's voice, people might start thinking she's like Manah. It's always the ghosts and cursed people who have the voice of the Legion. Yeah, I was basically thinking that they were kind of exaggerating with how terrible her curse was... Then I remembered Manah and it seemed a lot more reasonable.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2018 03:26
|
|
|
Episode XVII: Quack Back Music: Sea - Highnoon Fish .jpg) <notices the party> Wha...!? You people are...!! Well, I never! Aren’t you rude, then? You can’t just come barging in, yelling and flailing about! Nah, it's cool. Alice was gonna die of old age before the curse at the rate that story was going. You were warned, boy. Not strongly enough! Now you look at me like you’ve seen a ghost! Have we met before? <shrugs> Uh, n-n-no, no! Not at all!! I… I just, uh, didn’t expect to see such a beauty in a place like this. M-my apologies. Heh heh, heh heh heh…The door creaks open and Zhuzhen shuffles into the scene. Music: Asian Parfait .jpg) <stands up> Y-you?! It's the quack oracle! Cowardly Chen looks the party over one last time and dashes full speed out the door. Nothing suspicious there. .jpg) It's been like two days, pops. Yeah, well... I've been to four villages in that time and sorted out a hex, a poltergeist, and one demon badger. Also, there was a false alarm odor curse that turned out to be the mayor's son not having bathed for six weeks. That was the worst of the lot... It's easy to lose track of time when you're that busy. Yeah, well. Lotta that going around lately. Busy few days for both of us, eh? Mhm. <turns to Margarete> Hmm? And who’s this? Someone from the railroad company? I’m Margarete. I’m a high-ranking government official from a certain large country. Sigh… Another shady-looking old fellow. So, who are you? <steps forward> Master Zhuzhen! Thank you for coming! We’ve been expecting you. Sorry to keep you waiting. Some idiot blew up the train depot, and the trains aren’t running. And I'd have chartered a flight, but the airfield was on lockdown. Seems terrorists broke onto the base and caused some kinda ruckus there too. <notices Alice>Zhuzhen walks up to Alice and kneels to check on her. .jpg) …Whew. That’s a mighty powerful curse she’s under. You couldn't get a pillow or a blanket for the poor girl? You just tossed her in a heap on the floor like a ragdoll? Look, gramps. Trust me, that's her preference for getting rest. If you say so, kid. This curse is dire... …But you needn’t worry anymore. <walks up to Zhuzhen> My arts are as good as useless against it. More than ten have died so far…Zhuzhen stands back up. .jpg) It’s the man pulling the strings… It’s “him”. What do you mean?! You… you know why Li Li came back?! <nods> Oh, I have a pretty good idea. I’m starting to see who might be behind all this. Oh…! It’s… Zhuzhen… .jpg) Li Li… is in… pain, too. S-somebody… forced her… to come back… Yes, yes… I know. I know exactly who it is, and what he’s up to. Now's not the time for a monologue filling everyone in. We've got to take care of that curse first, OK? You just take it easy and get some rest. I assure you, it’ll all be over by tomorrow morning. Okay? Yes… Th-thank… you… <passes out again>Zhuzhen stands back up and walks over to Yuri and Margarete. .jpg) Our first task is to rid this town of its ghosts! What do you say? Are you with me? What d’ya say? You want to tag along? <nods> If that’ll save Alice? You’d better believe it!! Been itching to punch a ghost since I got here. <nods> Same here! Less punching, though... Can you even punch a ghost...? Oh, absolutely. Yuri's fists should be a big help. Huh... OK, second question: Can you SHOOT a ghost...? Sure. Crack them over the head with a stick, set them on fire, you name it. Ghosts being some incorporeal being is an old wives' tale. Good to know. <starts pacing> Okay, let’s strike while the iron’s hot! Good. Let’s get cracking then. First, we’ve got to find the place they’re all getting in from. My guess would be somewhere down by the water. There’s sure to be a mark at the spot where they enter. …We need to destroy it. You can walk end-to-end of this town in under a minute. It shouldn't be hard to find. Monsters are everywhere outside. Be careful… They've been randomly battling anyone who dares step more than a few feet outside at night. I shall look after the girl. <nods> Right! We’ll leave her to you. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. <to Yuri and Margarete> All right, let’s get going.Meanwhile, back in Fengtian... Music: Army Mood .jpg) Yes. The man and the woman have set out to destroy the monsters that’ve been appearing in town. That’s how they’re going to break the spell on the girl. At least, that’s what they said. I ran here as quickly as possible to inform you. Excelle—wait... Excuse me, did you just say you ran here? Yes, ma'am. Fast as I could! From Dalian? As you ordered. The 400 kilometer away Dalian port village? That Dalian? I ran track back in my school days. ...I see. Commendable. But, this report....jpg) So the other two must be the thin young man and Malkovich… Very well. The beast is caught in its trap! ...Yes, we must proceed with caution… E-excuse me… Sending in brute strength may not be the best way… In which case… …Perhaps I’d better do this myself. E-excuse me, Lt. Colonel… I was wondering, heh heh, that is, if you don’t need me anymore… I'd like to go get some rest is all... That jog really took it out of me. <turns to Chen> Yes, yes. You may go. Get your money before you leave. And one more thing. You must not breathe a word of this to anyone. Have you got that? <nods> Huh? Oh, of course! Honestly, I’ve got a terrible memory. I’ve already forgotten the whole thing… <laughs>Cowardly Chen jogs out of the room. .jpg) <paces> <paces> <paces> Somebody! At once! Yes, Lt. Colonel!.jpg) Three soldiers dash into the office. One is not like the others... Once you receive a character portrait military outfits are legally obligated to let you wear whatever you please. .jpg) That chin... I’m sorry, but could you leave the self-introductions for later? We don’t have time for this now. <turns to the generic grunts> I want you two to dispose of the man who just left this room. Make it look like a traffic accident. <stands at attention> Yes, Lt. Colonel! The two generic soldiers run from the room to carry out their assassination orders. .jpg) Sergeant Kato, you’re coming to Dalian with me. Get a boat ready. A… boat, ma’am? A boat. You know how to operate one, I presume. I've had some rudimentary training, but not— That's better than most here. Get the boat. I don’t care what kind. Any old thing will do. Do you understand? If so, we leave now. Follow me! <walks out of the room> Ah! Lt. Colonel! Please, wait! <runs after her>Back in Dalian... Music: Sea - Highnoon Fish .jpg) And we're finally back to being able to play the game. Alice is out of commission until further notice and Zhuzhen has taken her place. They're nice enough to level him up to roughly the same range as the rest of the party. The game will not always be this nice about characters who fall by the wayside for an extended duration. .jpg) With our healer Alice out of the picture for a while, we're going to stop by the store and stock up on some Thera Leaves since we'll need to rely on consumables until we fix her curse. I also "forgot" to equip Alice with those new accessories we purchased. So Zhuzhen can slip those on in her stead. Alice is a nice girl. I'm sure she won't mind. .jpg) .jpg) While we're at it, we can also run back over to the apparently 24-hour Underground Weapon Shop and pick up Zhuzhen's new Hexagonal Staff. This upgrade grants +8 Physical and +11 Special Attack. After all, it's PERFECT for the adventuring clergyman! .jpg) Anyway, let's get to it! Random battles now occur in the streets of Dalian. Though nothing we haven't seen yet... kinda... .jpg) Music: Brain Hopper .jpg) .jpg) There are only two mobs haunting the streets of Dalian. Neither of which are ghosts, despite the Ghost Troubles afoot. And only one of them is a "new" enemy – the Water Creepers which are a random battle version of the Kappa mid-bosses we fought back in Fengtian's sewers. Beyond the palette swap, the only notable difference they possess is having only 55 HP (versus the Kappa's 100), no healing ability and being Wind elemental instead of Water. Any single one of our current party can kill a Water Creeper in a single combo.  Water Creepers Japanese name was Isora (Seashore) and is derived from Azumi-no-Isora a minor Shinto god of the seashore. Couldn't find much information on 'em other than they're kinda gross and slimy. The above is Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne's interpretation of one which is... just an angry stingray. Shadow Heart's palette-swapped Kappa seems closer a take. .jpg) Other than the Water Creepers, Frog Gods have also made the trip from the Fengtian Sewers to Dalian port. Normally, I wouldn't comment on a returning enemy. But this is a special case. These are the only two mobs in the area – a trio of Water Creepers and a trio of Frog Gods. Frog Gods seem like they're the more common of the two. .jpg) Margarete's Grenade skill will wipe out the entire Frog God mob in a single turn. Zhuzhen's Ogre Flamedance can do the same as well, though he is significantly slower than Margarete so he'll likely not get the chance unless she runs out of MP. In other words, these guys are extremely easy to grind. Music: Results .jpg) These fellas give very little EXP at only around 150 a battle. So, they're not good for leveling up. What the Frog Gods ARE good for is the fact they're Light elemental for... some reason. A fight that lasts all of 20 seconds yields +3 Light Soul Energy. There is no more efficient area in the early game to quickly level up Light Soul Energy. It's like a 12-minute grind, tops. So, we're gonna go ahead and do that real quick. .jpg) And while these enemies provide minimal EXP (we wouldn't want to power level while Alice is half-dead) they will fork out enough experience to likely level up Zhuzhen, who rejoins the party quite close to Level 12. At Level 12 Zhuzhen learns Nourishing Potion – a spell which causes mild healing and cures paralysis. Always good to have a backup healing spell, especially when our White Mage is taking a vacation. Not that Zhuzhen is going to be replacing Alice anytime soon. Nourishing Potion costs a hefty 35 MP which limits its applications. Plus, Zhuzhen is the slowest party member and that ain't great for a healer. But hey, it's better than nothing! .jpg) Once Yuri's Light Soul Level has reached its next level, we can take a quick break and hop into the Graveyard at the town square save point to go claim our prize. Music: Graveyard Moon .jpg) Sure enough, another one of the gravestones has lit up with energy. If we go take a closer look... .jpg) .jpg) Music: Brain Hopper .jpg) Our Fusion monster challenger for today is Heaven's Fiend. Someone forgot to give this poor lad some legs... Having wings doesn't compensate for a lack of legs. Nobody wants to fly EVERYWHERE to get around. That's incredibly inconvenient even to some weird angelic being. .jpg) In any case, Death Emperor, our Dark elemental Fusion, ought to be the one to take on its Light counterpart. .jpg) .jpg) We'd not really had a need to mess with Death Emperor's Special Attacks thus far since its physical strikes made the donuts well enough. The Dark Elemental fusion's primary offensive spell is Dark Messenger, which just... kind has it vomit a bunch of gross smoke that seems highly unpleasant to get a face full of without notice. Certainly, Heaven's Fiend hates it. Fun fact: in our opening fight with Fox Face, if Yuri survived long enough after his ghost dad transformed into Death Emperor, the fight will automatically end when he uses Dark Messenger since it does about 300 damage in that fight while Yuri was still a Level 1 baby. .jpg) .jpg) Heaven's Fiend is not without abilities of its own. Exorcist Arrow is err... well an arrow of light. Pretty straightforward, really. The Light elemental attack that will peel off a good 35-40 HP off our Death Emperor. But Yuri is becoming an increasingly sturdy boy. He can take it. .jpg) .jpg) We wanted to get our Dark Messenger licks in early because Heaven's Fiend can also produce a Wall of Resistance which adds a 15% Special Attack defense that lasts the rest of the battle. Not that 15% is a huge margin of damage reduction. Still... .jpg) .jpg) To be on the safe side, we should probably just punch its lights out. Nothing beats the classics. .jpg) Defeating Heaven's Fiend grants us its soul and with it the Light Elemental Fusion. We're definitely gonna want this one in our stable in the future. Best to pick it up early. Music: Graveyard Moon .jpg) You've received Soul of Heaven's Fiend! .jpg) Unlike our previous Fusions, Heaven's Fiend is more of a support type transformation. Its biggest boon is Sacred Remedy – a full party heal. There may be instances in the future where Yuri takes over as the designated healer for a time due to this ability. Stat wise, Heaven's Fiend provides:
.jpg) While we're in the neighborhood, we may as well clear out our accumulated Malice. We'd made it to Red level Malice, just shy of Fox Face showing up. It's still a wee bit too early game for that to be a good idea.  Gonna be real, Yuri. I'm not a fan of your weird slug tail flailing in that form... Not a real fan of anything going on in that form, honestly. It's a weird, gross boy. Not into it. .jpg) Defeating Evil 4 again and clearing out Yuri's Malice this time nets a Seal of Luck to boost... well, take a wild guess. Morgagius sounds more like the god of mortgages than gambling. But I don't think there is a mortgage deity to my knowledge. That'd be the worst... But enough about that, our side business in the Graveyard is concluded. Let's hop back into reality and continue on our way sorting out that whole bothersome curse business. Music: Angel Heart .jpg) The Dalian inn has opened after Sea Mother's ghost story. So, any damages or depleted MP we racked up can quickly be remedied with an inexpensive 100 buck inn rest. Those Frog God battles had the secondary benefit of providing 650 Cash a pop. As such, we're pretty set on funding going forward for a decent stretch. So that's nice. .jpg) .jpg) That quick grind kinda quadrupled the length of this whole Dalian nighttime event. In reality, all we had to do was walk one screen over to the docks where we began. We'd be hard pressed to run into more than a couple random battles along the way. .jpg) In the bottom left corner of the fenced off turtle area from earlier, Yuri can now rummage around in the grass to recover this little trinket. Between modern monitor refresh rates and playing on an emulator, my Judgement Ring timing is already on the cusp of classification as "kinda spotty" overall. Not really in the market for something that makes it spin faster... .jpg) Enough distractions! Let's reach the dock already. Nobody noticed this giant evil hell aura glyph emblaze at the water's edge? Nobody going out at night ain't an excuse. Sea Mother is in the building right there to the south. She could have looked out a drat window at some point in the last few weeks. Ridiculous...  .jpg) Before we proceed any further, we're gonna go ahead a do a quick party shuffle. Everyone is going to hang out with Zhuzhen in the back row for a little while. No real reason. I just thought the old timer was getting lonely back there. .jpg) If we get rid of this, the monsters disappear, right? <nods> Awright, let me at it!! Kid, you don't know the first thing about how to get rid of this thing, do you? <rubs neck> Well, I was thinking of... Were you thinking of punching it? N-no... <unconvinced glare> ...Yes. That's not gonna help here. Stand back....jpg) Zhuzhen performs some crazy kung-fu moves and apparently can now summon lightning now? Of all the characters in the party, the extent of Zhuzhen's powers is the most... vague. Just roll with it... Tune in next time as the gang sorts out the source of this ghost trouble. If you think it means fighting a husky-voiced ghost lady, you'd be very wrong...    Video: Episode 17 Highlight Reel   Sea Mother Portrait – You think the Cat Lady demon is sore Sea Mother got a proper character portrait and she didn't, despite sharing the same old lady model? The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 17:11 on Jul 22, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2018 15:07
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 23:42 |
|
|
You know, I like the idea that angels aren't all they're cracked up to be. Kinda like how SMT4's archangels are loving grotesque monsters just like the demons they claim to hate. Yuri's "Angel" transformation goes along those same lines, he didn't turn into a being of "goodness and beauty" as much as he turned into another grotesque monster like the rest of his transformations.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2018 15:37
|
|
